


The Reckoning

by PutItBriefly



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale, 半妖の夜叉姫 | Hanyou no Yashahime | Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon (Anime)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:15:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 17,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27172996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PutItBriefly/pseuds/PutItBriefly
Summary: Life was anti-climactic. Life never wanted people to know a day of reckoning when they saw one.Or, Rin stops by the village on her way to motherhood.
Relationships: Higurashi Kagome/InuYasha, Rin/Sesshoumaru (InuYasha)
Comments: 329
Kudos: 584





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, this is a series of vignettes about Rin being pregnant with the twins. I currently have a list of 14 topics. If there is something you would especially like to see that relates to Rin being pregnant, let me know.

When the time came, Rin chose humanity.

Upon returning to the feudal era after high school, Kagome caught up on all that she had missed. Miroku and Sango married and began their family. Kohaku carried on the traditions of the demon slayers. Shippou continued to take fox demon examinations. Inuyasha had waited for her to come home. 

Coming back was like waking from a dream. For three years, Kagome had struggled for success in a world that seemed colorless, listless, confusing and wrong. And then came the rush of air as she fell through the well. Wind on her face, and she was awake. Everything was familiar. All of her friends were living the lives she had imagined for them in her lonely moments. The place she belonged was ready for her.

Waiting.

The biggest difference between what Kagome had expected and what she found when she returned was Rin. She had never really seen Rin as an entity separate from Sesshoumaru. They were a package deal, the vicious great demon and a cheerful human girl. They were a discordant pair who seemed oblivious to, if not contemptuous of, the fact that they should want nothing to do with one another. After Naraku was defeated, the only thing tying Inuyasha to his brother disappeared. Sesshoumaru would vanish, she thought, for another few decades at least. And so would Rin. Instead, Rin stayed in the village. Inuyasha had explained that Kaede wanted Rin to have a choice. It made sense. If Rin never knew anything else, falling deeper and deeper into her worship of Sesshoumaru would be simply the work of gravity.

Admittedly, Kagome did have a tendency to imagine life as more of a fairy tale than it actually was. She expected that one day, Sesshoumaru would sweep into the village, invite Rin on a momentous adventure, convince her he hung the moon, and that would be that.

Because life is not a folk tale of gods and witches, it didn’t happen.

Life was anti-climactic. Life never wanted people to know a day of reckoning when they saw one.

The sun rose. The people rose. Neighbors went about their chores, same as always. Around mid-morning, a stranger arrived at the shrine. He had come from an isolated village far to the south, he said. Tales of Inuyasha and the great priestess Kagome had reached them. His people had a dire need, he said. They had no priestess. They had no herbalist. They had no midwife. Please, could the great Kagome help them?

“My mentor, Kaede, would be happy to train a priestess for your village. Send a girl here. We can care for her while she learns.”

“All due respect, but training up a girl would take years. We have illness _today._ We have mothers and no one to care for them _today.”_

“I’ll do it. I’ll go.”

The visitor had come looking for a priestess. A girl in a colorful silk kimono was hardly someone he had even acknowledged, but Rin’s eyes were aflame with determination and compassion. “I don’t have spiritual power like Kagome, but I have assisted Kaede for seven years. I know how to tend to the sick and deliver babies.” To Kagome, she said, “This is your home. You tried too hard to get back to leave. I don’t mind going. I like seeing new places.”

Inuyasha regarded the entire tale of woe with skepticism. He was also not about to allow a fifteen-year-old who had already been resurrected twice and kidnapped countless times to walk into a potentially unsavory situation. He sat patiently by while she packed her things. He escorted her personally to the village and hung around for about a fortnight, leaving only when he was completely satisfied that things were exactly as they appeared. In Inuyasha’s experience, every unfamiliar corner was a potential danger. But this was just an isolated village who lost a vital elder when their only priestess unexpectedly passed.

“Rin’s a good kid,” Inuyasha had told Kagome after he returned home alone. “She sees someone in trouble and she wants to help.” If he sounded a bit sad, doubtless it was because he was realizing without Naraku or some other common foe to tie his companions together, they would inevitably drift apart. Rin was the first to leave. Shippou would be next. Sango wouldn’t want to stay forever. Once Kohaku established a new hub of operations for demon slayers, her family must follow to train her children in the ways of their ancestors. 

Kagome didn’t pity Sesshoumaru. He would hate her for it if she did and she still hoped to be accepted as his sister-in-law someday. But even so, her heart hurt just a little every time she remembered that the girl who taught Sesshoumaru how to love did not pick him in the end.


	2. Chapter 2

Two years later, a girl in a vivid indigo kimono stood on the steps of the shrine.

“Hi, everyone! I’m back!”


	3. Chapter 3

Inuyasha had been her steward. Yes, Sesshoumaru had left Rin in Kaede’s household and it was the old priestess who took on all the duties of mothering. And naturally, Sesshoumaru had a way of just _appearing_ and hovering ominously every time a demon was dumb enough to try and cause a ruckus in the village of Inuyasha. Still, Inuyasha knew better than to think Sesshoumaru meant to leave Rin without protection. The brothers’ relationship wasn’t civil enough--and never would be--for Sesshoumaru to _ask_ Inuyasha to look out for her.

But it had been understood.

They didn’t have to _like_ each other to have earned a shred of loyalty, a crumb of faith.

Wherever Rin had come from, she _walked_ home. From the looks of it, it had been a long while, too. Kagome bypassed a shrine reunion and brought Rin straight to their hut, and the weary traveler had sunk gratefully in front of the hearth. Her sandals were left at the door. Inuyasha wished he hadn’t noticed how scuffed and worn they were, but he did. Even her socks were discolored from road dust.

Possessing most of the grace in their family, Kagome began the interrogation gently. “How is your village?”

“Oh, they’re fine! I taught some of the local girls like Kaede taught me. I think they’re happier being self-sufficient.”

“I feel so silly now, I thought you were going to stay there! I wish we’d known you meant to come home!”

Rin turned pink. “I’m so sorry, Kagome! Inuyasha!” Embarrassed, her fingers played with the edges of her sleeve. “Honestly, I wasn’t really _planning_ on coming back…”

Kagome said, “Well, we’re glad you changed your mind,” at the precise moment Inuyasha asked, “Why the hell not?”

Rin picked at her sleeve. “Do you think Kaede will be happy to see me? I need her help.”

“Of course Kaede will be happy!” Kagome cried. “And you know you can count on us!”

“She let me into her family and I just _left_ her,” Rin moaned.

“You didn’t abandon her,” Kagome said gently. “She’s proud of you for not hesitating to help others. It was a big choice to uproot yourself like that. You will always be welcome here if you need help. We’re pretty good at helping, aren’t we, Inuyasha?”

“What’s the trouble, anyway?” Inuyasha asked. He’d feel a lot better after he got to hit someone.

“Oh!” Rin squeaked. “It’s not _trouble._ I need a midwife. I’m pregnant.”

Kagome’s composure faltered. “Congratulations!”

Unencumbered by grace, Inuyasha asked, “You got a husband?”

Rin furrowed her brow. “Of course I do.”

“Inuyasha!” Kagome frowned deeply at her husband, who, being perfectly convinced his wife was also wondering that, paid her no mind.

“Where is he?”

Rin blinked. “I don’t know.”

“Inuyasha!” Kagome hissed.

“Why’d you come _here?”_

“He told me to.”

“Inuyasha, that’s _enough._ Rin, how far along are you?”

Rin blew her bangs up with a puff of breath. “I’m not sure. I think just a few days.”

“Why the hell do you think you’re a _few days_ pregnant? You’re a midwife! You know you can’t tell that soon!”

“Inuyasha, sit!”

Neck first, Inuyasha crashed into the floor. He didn’t need to look up to picture the withering stare Kagome sent him. 

“Come on, Rin, let’s go see Kaede.”

Kagome left him on the floor, but it was when she returned from delivering Rin to their mentor that she really let him have it. “You can’t ask those invasive questions!”

“She got hoodwinked by some pervert!”

Kagome was still for a moment. “Okay, I know the ‘few days pregnant’ thing is really strange, but there’s probably a rational explanation for everything else.”

“She says she got a husband but she don’t know where he is. She walked here. You really think this guy is ever gonna show?”

The benefit of the doubt found a consistent champion in Kagome. “We don’t know what the circumstances are. It’s not like everyone can afford to have horses and a cart.”

“People who can afford clothes like she’s wearing,” Inuyasha said pointedly, “can afford carts.”

Kagome was silent. Though she had been in this era for several years now, she didn’t always recognize the implications of things like dyes. Indigo was expensive.

“I dunno how it is in _the future,”_ he said, complete with mocking wiggly fingers, “but _here_ when a woman gets married, she becomes part of her husband’s family. This guy sent her to Kaede. I don’t trust someone who buys her fancy clothes, gets her into bed, kicks her back to her own family an’ disappears. She’s never seeing this clown again.”

Kagome sighed and ran her fingers through her bangs. “I know Rin can be naive, but that’s a lot of conclusions from not a lot of information.”

“Yeah, well, let’s see what you’ll be saying when we gotta stop Sesshoumaru from eviscerating the bastard.” Stop him he would, but damn, he wouldn’t like it.

Kagome shook her head. “That’s not it. We’re missing something here.”

Whatever it was they missed, they weren’t going to get it until Kagome decided to let him ask questions. Aside from knowing that Rin was settling herself at Kaede’s hut once again, the rest of the evening passed fairly normally.

Come nightfall, he couldn’t sleep. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing up. The air felt heavy. Inuyasha sniffed.

Fuck!

He ran to the door and pulled the mat aside.

Suspended in the air above Kaede’s hut, legs crossed and arms folded in his sleeves, sat Sesshoumaru. His hair fanned out around his head propelled by wind that was not present. His eyes glowed blood red in the darkness.

Oh, fuck!


	4. Chapter 4

“Yo.” Inuyasha landed lightly, his bare feet not making a sound as they made contact with the wooden roof beams. Kagome slipped off his back as carefully as she could, hoping she was quiet enough that her footsteps would not be echoing throughout the inside of the hut. “You wanna tone down the Murder Aura? People are trying to sleep.”

From up here, Kagome could see Sesshoumaru’s dragon curled up on the ground by the far side of Kaede’s hut. Normally, Jaken would be riding his lord’s fur boa, but he was conspicuously absent.

Seated form perfectly still, Sesshoumaru turned his head just enough to give the impression of baring his teeth at his brother.

“Yeah, yeah,” Inuyasha groused, thoroughly unimpressed, “you can kick up a fuss in the morning, we’ll have a real knock-down drag out fight about it if you want, but this ain’t the time and you know it.”

Sesshoumaru leveled gold eyes at them. His hair dropped limp down his back. “Nothing I know is any concern of yours.”

Kagome pushed past Inuyasha. “We spoke to Rin,” she said softly.

Eyeing Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru said coldly, “Not a  _ word.” _

Kagome folded her hands in front of herself. Sesshoumaru would not tolerate a consoling arm. When he left Rin in the village, had he understood what he was doing? Her life was going to continue without him, maturing past girlish fantasies while he remained an ageless, immortal being. Interacting with the world, affecting the world, but in reality--frozen in time. How long would a demon pine after a lost love? Was taking it upon himself to watch over her going to help or hinder his healing? 

Kagome turned back to Inuyasha. “Let’s go,” she said quietly. “He just wants to protect Rin’s baby.”

Inuyasha scoffed. “She ain’t actually pregnant, Sesshoumaru. Humans can’t tell that early. Takes ‘em months.”

“I would not mistake that scent.” Kagome almost wished to think he was wistful, but truthfully, Sesshoumaru’s tone was as cool as ever.

The bravado dropped from Inuyasha’s posture. “She really….? Damn.”

Tugging on Inuyasha’s sleeve, Kagome whispered, “Hey, come on, let’s let him be.”

Silently, Inuyasha lifted his wife back onto his back and jumped down to the earth again. 

When they were back within the privacy of their own hut, Kagome wondered, “Can you smell anything?”

Inuyasha flicked his nose. “No, but my sense of smell ain’t as good as a full demon’s anyway.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I raised the rating just to be safe.

Waking up was disorienting. Rin came out of a dream to surroundings so familiar that for a moment, she forgot she had ever left. Perhaps the last two years were just a dream, as well. She blinked. Sleep cleared and her mind rose, and no. She had come back, but the leaving was all true.

Rin dressed, folded up her futon and asked if Kaede needed any help making breakfast.

Inuyasha poked his head through the entrance mat. “Hey, Rin, you’re gonna wanna come out here.”

Kaede shooed her along, so Rin followed Inuyasha outside. Kagome stood waiting by the door. With hands on her shoulders, Inuyasha ushered Rin to keep walking and when she was as far from the hut as he liked, he spun her around and pointed upwards.

She followed the line of his finger.

“Lord Sesshoumaru!” A delighted laugh bubbled out of her mouth. “I didn’t think you’d be here so soon!”

Gracefully, he leapt from Kaede’s roof to land before her. “There are none left in doubt that this region has come under the protection of this Sesshoumaru.” Then, “You are well?”

Rin nodded. “Yes! I can take care of myself.”

“You spoke to the old priestess.”

“Yup! She said she’ll do what she can.”

Rin’s trust in Kaede was nearly as unshakable as her faith in Lord Sesshoumaru. Although her lord was not in the habit of praising humans, Rin was confident Kaede was one of the few who had earned his respect. “Come in and have breakfast with us.”

“Thank you, no.”

Rin pouted. “Tea?”

“No.”

Hands clasped behind her back, Rin swayed as she sang, “Someday, I’m going to figure out what you like!” Recollecting that Inuyasha and Kagome were right there, Rin forced herself to be still. “To eat, I mean. One little hint? Tell me something you think tastes good.” 

Lord Sesshoumaru’s gaze was so intent Rin had to avert her eyes. At that moment, her thoughts decided to betray her, filling her with the memory of her lord pushing himself up from a prone position, his claws fisted in the dirt on either side of her hips. She had been transfixed as he licked his glistening lips. She had lain limp and still as he propelled himself forward, his silver hair cascading all around her in the moonlight. When his elbows hit the ground, they just brushed her shoulders. Lord Sesshoumaru then pressed his face against her neck and lapped urgently, as if he had a thirst that could be quenched only by her sweat.

Rin hid her face behind her palms. How could she be thinking such things with Inuyasha and Kagome right there? She peered at them through her fingers. 

They seemed confused.

“Would you like to stay for breakfast?” Rin squeaked.

It took Kagome a moment to answer, “We would love to.”

“I ain’t picky,” Inuyasha added, folding his arms behind his head.

“At least come inside with us,” Rin said to Lord Sesshoumaru. “You want to speak to Kaede, too, right?” She tugged on his sleeve with two fingers, imploring him, and he acquiesced. 

It was an awkward meal.

Inside the hut, there was a strange atmosphere. Lord Sesshoumaru sat against the wall, pointedly removed from the rest of the group. Without Rin’s assistance, Kaede had recruited the help of Master Jaken. Rin picked at her food, too embarrassed to eat. Kagome kept looking at Lord Sesshoumaru with a pitiful little frown. Did Kagome think she was brazen? Did others look at Rin and think she was disrespectful, that Lord Sesshoumaru deserved better? Of course, only Lord Sesshoumaru’s opinion truly mattered, but she did want Kagome to think well of her.

Breakfast was over when Kaede deemed it so. “Sesshoumaru,” she intoned. Lord Sesshoumaru did not move from where he sat. “Rin tells me you intend for her to remain in this village for the duration of her pregnancy.”

“She will require the assistance of her own kind,” he replied.

“And assistance we shall give. I must caution you both, however, against unrealistic expectations. I do not know any better than you what complications Rin may experience.”

“Aw, don’t scare her, Kaede,” Inuyasha said, chin in his palm. “She’s got enough to worry about.”

“I would think you more than anyone would caution her, Inuyasha. We know very little about what to expect when it comes to bearing a half-demon.”

_ “Half-demon?!” _

Master Jaken erupted. “Inuyasha, how dare you insinuate Lord Sesshoumaru’s wife would be unfaithful!”

Rin was rather insulted herself.

_ “His wife?”  _

“We thought--” Kagome waved her palms in front of her, as if she could just erase the implication, “Rin, when you moved to that village, we thought--”

Rin gasped. “You thought I had forsaken Lord Sesshoumaru! Kagome, I would never do that! I love him!” 

“Congratulations to both of you,” Kagome said. “We’re very happy you’re starting a family.”

Rin closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. How they saw her was hurtful, but they hadn’t meant anything bad by it. A misunderstanding, nothing more. She exhaled and smiled “Thank you. We’re very happy, too.”

“You know, I think this conversation is a lot more personal than we realized. How about Inuyasha and I go? It sounds like you have a lot to talk about.”

They were family. Rin didn’t mind if they stayed. Inuyasha and his wife were clearly embarrassed, though, so Rin did not argue. “Oh! Well, if you want. See you later!”

The hut was not especially sound proof. Even after the mat was fluttering from their departure, Rin heard Inuyasha say, “So where do you suppose he was sticking his nose that he could smell a baby that small?”

Kagome shrieked.  _ “Sit!” _


	6. Chapter 6

Nothing of any interest lurked in the forest beyond the village. He knew this. He had prowled the woods once tonight already. Assurance that all was as it should be had been a factor, but boredom had driven him more than he cared to admit. Even now, the knowledge he would find nothing did little to quell temptation. If not those woods, then elsewhere. Somewhere, there was strife, there was conflict. His blood sang with the desire to find it, and snuff it out.

In the quiet of the night, Sesshoumaru was still.

He could leave, had he a wish to. He could seek--something. Whatever remained to be sought in the far-flung distance.

Sesshoumaru disdained possibilities. Uncertainty was too close to ignorance; ignorance was a constraint. To be bound by even a definition was too much restriction. Limitations, expectations, external forces which foolishly tried to exert their own wills--all were impermissible.

Beneath him stood a little structure, revolting in every way. Scents lingered unnaturally when trapped within walls. Sounds echoed. It was made from human labor, a product of human design, human thought and human hands. To it, he could ascribe no value.

Humans, as a collective, were creatures of egregious ego. It was staggering, truly, how little they understood their own insignificance. That a man must live in a dwelling with his wife was an invention of human society. Apparently, they were all agreed that cohabitation of a ramshackle building was the most vital component of marriage. Leave it to humans to believe they had the right to negotiate, en masse, the terms of a pair bond. 

It pleased Rin.

The house. The recognition from her peers.

Sesshoumaru had never known Rin to desire walls and a roof, but she was always delighted when she had them. She never balked at sleeping on the ground or, should time be of the essence, the back of the dragon while they traveled. Still, she slept soundly on a futon when one was offered. 

He had never known her to desire the company of her own kind, but even Sesshoumaru could not deny Rin valued the opinion of Kaede, of Inuyasha’s Kagome, of the slayer and the monk. She sought to make valuable contributions to human society whenever she was near one, and expected to be recognized for it. To listen to her, one would think the every concern of each individual human was something of vital importance.

Rin was a study in contradictions. He could examine her for eternity and still not comprehend her nature. She respected the ephemeral lives of flowers and mortal creatures. She pledged herself and her fealty to an enduring great demon. She had come from a place of violence and misery, claimed she could not trust, and gave her whole heart to anyone who showed her the smallest of kindnesses. In any circumstance, on any day, she will choose only to help. 

Humans were remarkably fragile. In most cases, it was harder to let a human be on its way than to kill it. If she could, Rin would give of herself until she had nothing left, and yet her essence replenished itself with such alacrity that to do so was surely impossible. How to reconcile the frailty of her body with the vitality of her being, he still did not know. Most likely, he never would.

Rin slept.

His wanderlust called him to leave. His bloodlust called him to leave. 

Sesshoumaru floated above the house.

He felt her every exhale on the wind. Tenseiga pulsed in time with her heartbeat. 

The night was silent. Nothing of any danger lurked in the forest beyond the village. Should he leave, she would be as safe as if he stayed. Her life was precarious, yes, _always,_ but there was nothing he could do to shield her from the dangers of bearing a half-demon child. That required the expertise of those well versed in human frailty, and even that might not be enough.

Rin woke. 

Sesshoumaru knew before he heard the rustle of fabric and the slap of bare feet on wooden floors that she had woken up. Tenseiga told him her heart beat faster. The wind told him her breathing had quickened. Experience had taught him these things indicated she was either waking or falling into her deepest sleep. It was not the right time of night for the latter. 

Rin emerged from the hut. Sesshoumaru watched her move on the ground, walking in a circle around the house until she found the dragon. A-Un lifted their heads. The beast had belonged to Sesshoumaru for centuries, but within a week of meeting Rin, their allegiance had been permanently changed. She said it was because she gave them a name. Sesshoumaru had supposed the creature already had a name, and should they care for anyone to know it, they would tell. But this was an assumption he had never bothered to investigate, so how could he have known?

As a rule, he felt very little curiosity towards others.

Rin floated to meet him on the back of A-Un. She stepped carefully onto the roof, seeking steady footing with her toes before putting her whole weight down. It hardly seemed like the sort of thing a human in a delicate condition ought to be doing. Doubtless the disapproval he felt bled into his expression; doubtless she could read it. He said nothing. If Rin wished to fall off a roof, that was her business.

Her concentration was rewarded; she did not fall. Rin sat on the apex, her feet sturdy and flat on the slope.

Were a songbird to throw itself into a fire in a fit of rageful jealousy upon hearing the lilt and cadence of Rin’s speech, it would simply be doing as it ought to. Silently, so as not to disrupt her, Sesshoumaru’s feet touch the roof. He sat beside her, watching her joyful expression, the excited gesticulation of her hands. Her muscles were tensed only where they must be to retain her current position. A mood such as this made him hopeful she might sing.

Sesshoumaru had placed himself to Rin’s left and too soon, she stopped speaking. With quiet contentment, she leaned her head against his shoulder and sank into the depth of his fur. Then, Rin reached for the train and looped it around her shoulders and over her lap. The night was not, by Sesshoumaru’s reckoning, a chilly one.

Rin stifled a yawn.

“You are tired.”

She rubbed her cheek against his fur. “I want to be with you.”

The night was quiet, and yet, so full.

WIth his right arm, Sesshoumaru gathered Rin to his chest. He tucked his left beneath her knees, then leapt to the ground. As they crossed the threshold, Rin wriggled and he heard one of her sandals hit the floor, then the other. 

Half a dozen strides cleared the distance from the door to her futon. Sesshoumaru knelt and set Rin down. She reached for him, locked her hands behind his neck. Rin pulled, and he acquiesced, leaning in to meet her kiss. 

Rin’s futon was no place for swords and armor. Sesshoumaru shifted away, just far enough to undress himself. The rapt appreciation with which Rin watched him was interrupted by another yawn, a long one that caused her entire body to shudder.

Although Sesshoumaru could lick and nuzzle her all night, Rin had limits. She must sleep.

He joined her on the futon, spreading his fur to help the meager mat and old kimono she used as a blanket better accommodate two bodies. Sesshoumaru laid on his side and implored Rin to do the same, so that her back was nestled against his chest. His arms bracketed her waist. Rin pressed one of her hands against his palm and laced their fingers.

“This feels like ‘good night.’ Sleep well, my lord.”

Sesshoumaru hummed.

In his arms, Rin twisted herself around. Nose to nose, she asked, “You aren’t going to sleep, are you?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

How could he? Sesshoumaru tasted her breath. Her scent was fascinating--her skin, her clothing, the sweat that collected in the night, the child in her womb, even a bit of his own smell clung to her because of his fur. Her hands had not yet decided if they preferred to caress his skin or weave through his hair and he must see the resolution of this debate for himself. The rhythm of her heartbeat passed through her body into his in a steady thrum.

Rin flicked his nose. “You need to.”

In retaliation, Sesshoumaru licked her hand. With a moue of annoyance, Rin wiped his saliva on his own bare shoulder.

_ “You _ need to,” he replied, tucking her head beneath his chin.  _ “I _ am beholden to nothing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> State of the Fic:
> 
> Items on my list thus far covered:  
> 1) Sesshoumaru knew Rin was pregnant because he could smell it.  
> 2) Rin went back to the village to enlist Kaede's help thorough the pregnancy.   
> 3) S&R have their own house.
> 
> I currently have 11 more items on the list.


	7. Chapter 7

Every job was the same. Miroku would pretend whatever low-level demon they had come to exorcise was a vicious foe, use three times too many sutras to draw it out, then stand back while Inuyasha did the work of slaying the damn thing. They would get paid three times what the job deserved and Miroku would pretend he only fleeced the ignorant wealthy because he had a family to feed, as if this hadn’t been his play long before he and Sango decided to see if they could grow enough people to fill an entire village on their own. 

At the rate they were going, they probably would.

When Kagome returned to the feudal era, she had made it  _ abundantly _ clear she did not share Sango’s urge to pump out as many babies as she could as fast as she could. It had been their first married argument. Kagome’s passion always took him by surprise. Inuyasha had fought her on reflex, an instinctual response to her unexpected aggression. It wasn’t until the fight was over and their tempers cooled that he actually figured out what she had been trying to say.

She wanted one child, maybe two, but definitely not more than that, and definitely not for a few years.

Inuyasha surprised himself.

He had been so  _ relieved. _

Miroku and Sango were happy with their ever-growing brood. They wasted no time. Kin’u and Gyokuto had been born practically nine months to the day Naraku died. They had fought so valiantly out of love for their families. Miroku, seeking to end an inherited curse. Sango, ever vigilant to protect and restore Kohaku. And when it was over, they began one of their own.

Inuyasha did not have a healthy relationship with his heritage. Probably, it’s all a lot easier when you know how human your baby will be before it comes out. When you don’t have to try and predict how much the world is going to hate them before they’ve even been born.

Anyway.

No sense dwelling on  _ that.  _

Inuyasha was hardly hurting for distractions. Historically, he’d not cared much for demon extermination jobs, but two fucking weeks of Sesshoumaru in the village had taught him all excuses to leave were good ones. Kagome still harbored some odd fantasies about literal centuries of murderous animosity being quietly swept under the rug and replaced by Family Game Night or something. She was soft like that.

Not that Inuyasha thought things might go back to the way they were. The ceasefire between them was permanent. He had his brother’s back if Sesshoumaru needed him, and vice versa. But that didn’t mean he was interested in any kind of brotherly bonding.

Sesshoumaru, it turned out, was just in general pretty creepy.

Inuyasha had known..eh, a fair number of full demons in his day and  _ none _ of them were like his brother. (Was it the difference between a demon and a  _ great _ demon? Had their father been like that? Inuyasha had a sort of instinctual annoyance every time his brain wandered into Questions About the Old Man territory. He will never know his father. Wondering about him is pointless. The things he needed to learn won’t come from fretting about someone he cannot remember.)

On the subject of fathers, Inuyasha cared exactly Not At All that Sesshoumaru had had  _ such _ a change of heart on the subject of Half-Demons Staining His Illustrious Lineage that he was now into boning humans. It was hard to reconcile. Inuyasha had never developed an impression of his brother as a whole person. Before Naraku, he learned only what he needed to know about Sesshoumaru to survive their encounters. After, the cold distance between them suited him. The idea that Sesshoumaru had become  _ Rin’s husband _ forced Inuyasha to face facts: he had no idea who his brother actually was. 

And it turned out he was just creepy.

Sesshoumaru had this aura of bloodlust that did not ever go away. He hadn’t raised a claw to anyone, so Inuyasha tried to just ignore it, but familiarity with those claws made it damn hard. He didn’t seem to eat or sleep. Every other full demon Inuyasha knew did both and on about the same schedule as humans. But not Sesshoumaru. He almost never went inside his house, choosing instead to prowl the woods or lurk outside. That behavior was a little more familiar than Inuyasha cared to admit, but he had acted like that when he had no idea where he belonged, not when he had a wife. 

It was the aura that Inuyasha caught first, lingering a little too close to his own house for comfort. He sniffed. Rin was with Kagome, Sesshoumaru nearby but separate. The barrel of rice Inuyasha carried on his shoulder was pretty secure. It felt dishonest to have even this much bounty for what had been such a tiny job, but eviscerating demons for the fun of it did not feed a family. In three bounds, he was home.

“Your nose truly is disgraceful.”

“Get used to it,” Inuyasha replied. “Your kid’s won’t be any better.” It was unspeakably irritating to come home to find Sesshoumaru standing ominously outside. He couldn’t even go in and pretend he thought chatting with Kagome was worth his time? He had to stand outside and wait for Inuyasha to come along to insult? And even with a half-demon child on the way, Sesshoumaru still defaulted to the same old slights on his brother’s halved senses. “An’ they’re gonna feel like shit if you keep on talking like that. I dunno if Rin’s planning on letting you get away with it, but just so we’re clear, I’m not.”

“You,” Sesshoumaru said, voice cold and low, “are not the arbitrator of how I speak.” 

“Lord Sesshoumaru!” Rin’s head poked out the door. “Are you waiting for me?”

He did not answer.

Rin acted like he did, all but skipping to his side. “I didn’t mean to keep you.” To Inuyasha, she asked, “How was your mission?”

“Fine, fine.” The barrel of rice on his shoulder was heavy, like maybe Rin could read a sign on it that said ‘Undeserved.’

“Kagome will be so glad you’ve returned! Did the good monk go right home?”

“Always does.”

Rin chattered a bit--how Miroku was so attentive, how happy that must make Sango, how their children were so smart and cute and energetic. Inuyasha wondered if Sesshoumaru had noticed Rin apparently ascribed to the pump out as many babies as possible school of thought. Cynically, he wondered if she’d still feel that way after this one came out part dog.

When she paused to take a breath, Sesshoumaru ended the speech. “Rin. Did you have a pleasant visit?”

“Oh, yes, my lord. It’s so nice to catch up with Kagome!”

And then Sesshoumaru said the strangest thing he could have said. “Did she have any news?”

Even Rin found it odd, which was saying a lot. “Eh? Not really.” She knit her eyebrows. “Should she?”

Sesshoumaru caught Inuyasha’s eye and smiled.

Oh  _ fuck _ no.

He leaned down, bringing his lips to Rin’s ear.

Oh no.

No no no no.

Inuyasha’s ears flattened against his skull and just for good measure, he dropped the rice barrel and pressed the heels of his hands against them. He screwed his eyes shut.

He was not going to find out like this.

Kagome had a  _ plan, _ dammit. She had a calendar and a schedule and benchmark milestones to meet.

A vice grip around his ribs led Inuyasha to cautiously open one eye. Rin was grinning at him. She said something he steadfastly refused to hear, then let go and ran back into the house. Defeated, Inuyasha uncovered his ears. He had a pretty good idea of what that reaction meant.

_ “Kagome!” _ The walls were not thick enough to muffle Rin’s glee.  _ “Why didn’t you tell us?” _

“I believe congratulations are in order, little brother.”

“You’re a bastard,” Inuyasha huffed, “and I hate you.” 

And he followed Rin into the house.


	8. Chapter 8

Rin burst in.

She was  _ joie de vivre _ incarnate. Exuberance was in everything she did. Why should entering a hut be any exception? Still, she  _ had _ just left, so Kagome was surprised.

“Kagome!” Rin cried, “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Eh?”

They had whiled away a few hours chatting about nothing in particular as they hung medical herbs to dry. Conversations between Kagome and Rin tended to naturally turn towards doctoring and botany simply by the overlap of their skill sets and experiences. With time, they had canvassed other subjects as well. Autumn giving ground to winter, warm recipes and fond memories. 

Inuyasha swept the entrance mat aside with his knuckles, grimacing. Such an expression was hardly unusual after a mission with Miroku, but lately Inuyasha had clung to a sour attitude with a tenacity that was extreme even for him. Sooner or later, he was going to have to tire of misery and learn to coexist with his brother. Barring any tragedies, Sesshoumaru and Rin were going to be staying in the village at least until the birth of their child. Once the baby arrived, Kagome expected their plans to change. No doubt the romance of Sesshoumaru’s transient woodland lifestyle would wear off once Rin was confronted with the relentless demands of a newborn. Inuyasha ought to dedicate some of his energy to learning how to get along with Sesshoumaru for longer than the life expectancy of a common enemy before everyone found their time, attention and patience spent elsewhere.

Rin bounced on her toes.

Helplessly, Kagome turned to Inuyasha. Surely he knew whatever vital context Kagome was lacking. She had made plans to hang herbs with Rin today. They did. Rin left. Rin always could be counted on for the ability to summon more enthusiasm than anyone around her for every task, but even she had not been especially enamored of drying herbs. What happened in the one minute between Rin leaving and her return?

Inuyasha crossed his arms and broke eye contact.

Well, that cleared up something, at least. Inuyasha’s least favorite person and Rin’s most favored person were one in the same. Whatever occurred to delight Rin and irritate Inuyasha was Sesshoumaru’s doing.

A lucky stroke for him, really. Rin was usually too kind-hearted to find joy in something that was going to harm someone else.

“Lord Sesshoumaru says you’re expecting a baby, too!”

Kagome felt rather like her soul had been called to leave her body.

She sought something to say and settled on, “It’s too early to tell.”

As deflections went, it was stale. It was not all that long ago Inuyasha had tried to remind Rin of the typical woman’s timetable for discovering a pregnancy. She had not even pretended to entertain it. Rin put her faith in  _ Lord Sesshoumaru’s _ superior knowledge of her body, and it looked like she was inclined to do the same when it came to Kagome’s.

To place all her confidence in the great demon was fine for  _ Rin. _

But it was certainly not how Kagome had intended to share the news with  _ Inuyasha. _ The urge to somehow regain control over the situation was fierce.

Rin tutted. “Lord Sesshoumaru would not be wrong.”

Kagome twitched. She was no stranger to everyone thinking they were the greater expert on her than herself! At least Sesshoumaru’s nose leading him to absolute truths wasn’t yet another repetition of insistent Kikyo-based assumptions about Kagome. She was long past tired of that one.

The annoying thing was, Rin’s faith was justified. If Sesshoumaru said he could smell it, whether he meant the embryo itself or hormones or something else demons used to learn, he probably could. “I’ve suspected for about six weeks,” Kagome admitted.

Triumphant, Rin asked, “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because we haven’t told anyone!” Feudal Japan was hundreds of years removed from a drug store pregnancy test. Although Kagome tried to eat according to the nutritional standards of her own time, food was strictly seasonal and local. Maintaining the right balance of vitamins and minerals, protein and vegetables wasn’t always easy. Every now and again, Kagome’s cycle hiccuped simply because of her diet. She had not wished to rush into pregnancy. For years, she and Inuyasha had been  _ careful, _ and they tracked those hiccups with an intensity they never turned out to deserve. When they decided it was time to be ... _ less _ careful, they watched for hiccups with an entirely different sort of anxiety. 

Kagome had missed her period twice in a row so far. She and Inuyasha decided to tell Kaede after the third. Should their suspicions prove correct, the quickening ought to come a month or so after that. Then they would tell their friends.

“We aren’t sure yet,” Kagome added with hollow stubbornness. Three missed periods was her criteria, not a nosy dog demon and his nose.

“But we’re pregnant at the same time,” Rin moaned. Her language was decisive. “I’ve been talking about my baby the whole time I’ve been here! And you didn’t say  _ anything! _ I could never keep a secret like that!”

“It’s not a secret,” Kagome protested. “It’s just something we’re waiting to tell people.”

Rin clasped her hands in front of her. Her eyes went someplace starry and far away. “And they’re  _ cousins! _ I feel like they’re best friends already!”

Inuyasha looked like  _ his _ soul had departed this mortal plane.

Kagome forced a laugh. “Let’s wait until they are born to schedule playdates.”

“Sorry, sorry! It’s just so exciting! I never thought something like this might happen!”

Kagome hadn’t either. During those years she had believed Sesshoumaru spurned, she had silently fostered so much goodwill for him. He had grown so much, maybe not entirely due to love for a single human girl, but Rin had led the way. Kagome was happy, truly, that Rin reciprocated his feelings. But she was still getting used to the idea. When she and Inuyasha decided to grow their family, the idea that their children might have cousins in the Feudal Era seemed like a distinct impossibility. On top of that, half-demons were rare. Two partial demon pregnancies in a single village, children sired by two brothers--it was almost comical in its unlikelihood.

“Rin,” Kagome said, “we mean it about not telling anyone else yet, okay? As a midwife, you’d advise anyone else to wait to tell people until the quickening, right?”

“Okay,” she agreed, “I won’t. It’s your news anyway. But, you know, the rules are different with Lord Sesshoumaru.” Rin wrinkled her nose. “He’s probably still waiting for me. I should go. Bye!”

And with just as much energy as she burst in, she flew out.

Kagome held up three fingers. “Three missed periods. I am not officially pregnant until three.”

Some tension bled out of Inuyasha’s shoulders. “What? I didn’t hear nothing.”


	9. Chapter 9

“Why aren’t more villages like this one?”

Rin had not meant for her lament to steal Kagome’s attention from Shippou. The fox demon had returned from an extended training trip and was presently dazzling a group of villagers with the new illusions he had learned. Clustered closest to him was a large audience of children, their parents lingering further back not out of distrust for a demon but because they, too, wished to see the show. “Hm?”

“It’s so peaceful here, with everyone intermingled. Humans, demons, both. Everyone is welcome.”

Kagome blew her bangs. “I guess, but it’s not that simple. The Bone Eater’s Well is here, too.”

What Kagome’s magic well had to do with anything, Rin didn’t know.

“Demons attack here, too, you know. It used to be, after they were killed, the villagers would throw their bones into the well and they’d disappear. You’re right--some demons do live here. But just because some demons are our friends doesn’t mean there’s no violence. It’s pretty unusual for demons to be friendly to humans.”

“You just have to give them a chance.”

Flatly, Kagome replied, “Once a demon tries to eat me, I’m all done giving them chances.”

There was some wisdom to that, of course, but Rin’s personal experience teetered in the other direction. She shrugged. “Wolves from Kouga’s tribe ate me. Kouga’s nice. They just have to eat.” 

“That’s not the same.”

“It is--Lord Sesshoumaru…” Rin gave herself a little shake. She didn’t want to dwell on it. Wolves mauled her, mangled her, tore out chunks of her flesh and ate it. Lord Sesshoumaru restored her. She held no ill will towards Kouga or his tribe. How had they even breached this subject? Death had been no where on her mind as she watched Shippou dazzle the village children. She liked seeing how everyone was so proud of him. Humans surrounded him, applauded him, delighted in his accomplishments and rallied around him in support when it was time for an exam. Rin’s lament was not  _ death. _

It was that so few communities were like this one.

When Shippou had shown off every new trick two or three times at least and the parents began ushering their children home, Rin muttered, “They didn’t like Lord Sesshoumaru.”

The remark had been more addressed to herself than Kagome. Their previous conversation was well over anyway. Still, Kagome tried to follow Rin’s thinking. “Kouga?”

“In the village,” Rin said petulantly, “where I was the midwife. They didn’t like him. He didn’t do anything to them. That he was a demon was enough.” The first time he had visited, panicked men had thrown whatever sutras they had collected from traveling monks and priests. If Lord Sesshoumaru had noticed, he pretended otherwise. Among the entire village, there had been not the slightest flicker of spiritual power. They presented absolutely no threat to a demon, great or otherwise. It had been nothing more than baseless fear poisoning the minds of otherwise rational people. “They didn’t like that he visited me. They thought he was evil. I told them that he’s good and kind, but they didn’t believe me.” 

Kagome scratched her cheek. “Sesshoumaru isn’t the type to make a good first impression.”

“But being a demon doesn’t mean he’s  _ bad. _ He still deserves a  _ chance.” _ Rin herself had been afraid the first time she saw him, but her bravery in approaching him had been rewarded a hundred fold. More than that. To count the ways Lord Sesshoumaru enriched her life would be impossible.

With a forced laugh, Kagome tried to cut the tension. “I guess he stopped coming around so much.”

“What? Don’t be silly! He didn’t need anyone’s approval to visit me!” Tilting her head, Rin added, “Come to think of it, he visited more often  _ there _ than he ever did  _ here.” _

At that, Kagome genuinely laughed. “No Inuyasha!”

“No Kaede,” Rin corrected. “When I lived with her, she didn’t like Lord Sesshoumaru coming around too much because if I was relying on him, then I wasn’t learning to live independently with humans. But when I moved away, I  _ was _ independent. So her rules didn’t matter anymore.”

“All this time, we just assumed you stayed there. How long did it take before you ran off with Sesshoumaru?”

Violently blushing, Rin protested, “I did stay there! The village really needed help and I wasn’t going to abandon them just because they didn’t like Lord Sesshoumaru! It was just never going to be  _ home. _ I taught a few girls how to raise herbs and make medicines and deliver babies and when they were doing all the work themselves,  _ that’s  _ when we left.”

“So when was that?”

“The first year, I tended to the garden and the second year, I turned it over to them bit by bit. So...about a month before we came here? Maybe a little less?”

Kagome gaped at her.

“What?”

“You've only been here a month! You’re still newlyweds!”

“Mm, we’re very lucky. I got pregnant right away.” Rin had known it was possible for a human woman to conceive the child of a dog demon, but neither of them had known if it would be easy. Lord Sesshoumaru knew little about his father’s dalliance with Inuyasha’s mother. It had taken Kagome a surprising number of years to conceive--a subject Rin now knew better than to examine too closely. 

“I know it’s normal in this era to marry and have kids young, but it still feels so strange to me,” Kagome confessed. “When I was your age, I wouldn’t have thought a pregnancy was lucky.”

“Why not?” Didn’t people want families where Kagome was from?

“It’s nice to have time to just be a couple.”

Rin laughed. “You’re still a couple when you have babies!”

“Inuyasha and I took our time really getting to know each other and building our relationship. Living in relative peace is a lot different from when you’re fighting all the time. We figured out what our life together and our marriage was going to be first, and that makes me feel ready for kids now.”

_ Ready _ was such a strange word. Was anyone ready for children? The endless possibilities were too much to ever truly prepare for. “Human lives are so short, Kagome, and a demon’s life is so long. I have Lord Sesshoumaru’s child growing in me right now and I’m so lucky. I have so much time to spend with him or her and everyone who comes next. That makes me so happy. And I know when I’m gone, Lord Sesshoumaru won’t ever be alone because we made a family. We want this family. We married because we wanted to start it.” Rin dashed away the tears that welled up in her eyes.

“Wait--”

Rin waited.

“If the villagers didn’t like Sesshoumaru,” Kagome said slowly, “and they attacked him with sutras, what on earth was the wedding like?”

“Oh.” Rin looked away.  _ “Well. _ I guess we didn’t have a  _ wedding _ so much as we just  _ decided _ we’re married now and started to...um. You know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back! I really didn't mean to take as long a break from this story as I did, but "that resounding echo" took a really long time to write. If you haven't read it, please do. 
> 
> General housekeeping notes:  
> \--Ch. 4 has been changed slightly to make the InuKag pregnancy a little bit more consistent. SLIGHTLY. I changed one word.  
> \--Now that we know Rin and Sesshoumaru didn't formally marry and instead just frolicked off to the woods to procreate, I feel like the obvious question is will they have a formal wedding with Kaede and gang in the village? And the answer is no. The in-story answer is ~frolicking off into the woods on their own terms is how SessRin rolls and there is no level on which they are interested in a formal ceremony and/or party.~ The meta reason is every single source I have read about weddings in this era is WILDLY different.   
> \--This story will have 24 chapters.


	10. Chapter 10

A sour scent roused him from ennui. 

Human villages produced a cacophony of smells. The human body itself was responsible for a variety of odors, none especially useful. In a large population of humans, the stench multiplied exponentially. Between weak senses and the phenomena of olfactory exhaustion, wherein a human simply stopped noticing a persistent smell, the foulness of village air was, to them, unremarkable. 

Inuyasha escaped it frequently by following the monk on extermination missions. Though this village was peaceful, demonic vermin continued to pester humans living elsewhere. Inuyasha debased himself by killing such creatures on command. Pitiful an occupation though it was, the hunt satisfied Inuyasha's blood and travel between villages offered respite to his nose. Answerable to no call but his own, Sesshoumaru spent his days wandering the woods just beyond the village, thinking and staving off idle boredom.

The villagers had grown too accustomed to him.

The vermin knew to give him a wide berth.

He was a creature unwilling to make concessions. Conviction carried consequences. First among arenas where Sesshoumaru would brook no compromise was the well-being of his mortal wife. Her work as a midwife had interested him only in the sense that it was something Rin did, but he had observed enough to know human pregnancies were susceptible to complications. Even among the sturdiest of women, pregnancy was a risk. Sesshoumaru could bear a few months’ distaste to ensure Rin was never far from those with the expertise to aid her should she need it.

The sour scent was not unusual. Sesshoumaru smelled it or something similar every morning, even if he traveled out a ri or more. Sharp at first, and then dulled, as though some pollutant appeared suddenly and was immediately cleaned. 

What was unusual was that it _persisted._

It was coming from Rin.

Two ri or half a chou, there was no difference to a great demon. He had left his wife and their retainer in the hut some hours ago and found them both there still. Rin was hunched over a stoneware pot. Sesshoumaru knelt beside her. She raised her head. Lines of red cut apart the whites of her eyes.

Rin wiped her mouth with her palm. Weakly, she said, “I’m okay. This is normal.”

He had never seen such a thing before.

“It happens to most pregnant women,” Rin added. “I knew it would probably happen to me.”

Her affliction had caused blood vessels to burst beneath her skin. Little red dots peppered her face.

“The remedy.” The purpose behind a human community was to compensate for their weaknesses. If this was as common as Rin claimed, then her kind would have devised some manner of medication for it and shared the knowledge.

Rin sniffed and scrubbed her face with the heels of her hands. “Let’s try ginger first.”

“Jaken,” Sesshoumaru barked. The imp, useless for anything but keeping Rin company, scrambled to the little jars where they kept assorted foodstuffs. Jaken rummaged among the preserves and spices, Sesshoumaru’s ire growing with every delay, until he found the correct jar.

Jaken hurried across the hut, cradling ginger root in his arms, and presented it to Rin.

She recoiled. “No--I’m sorry--no.”

Sesshoumaru frowned. Everything Rin acquired for her meals smelled foul to him, but her collection was specifically tailored to her tastes. Never had she reacted so to one of her own items.

“Something else,” Sesshoumaru prompted. 

Rin rubbed at the roof of her mouth with her tongue. Her knuckles were white. “Usually, I advise women to eat small amounts of plain rice and avoid fish and meat.”

“Jaken!”

Rice was a complicated endeavor. Jaken stoked the fire in the hearth, rinsed the rice, poured out the dirtied water and added fresh, then hung it over the flames to cook.

Further attacks were not quelled. Rin doubled over the pot, retching with such force that her eyes watered and her nose was running. Her every attempt to wipe her face was stalled by another bout of heaving. Sweat beaded on her skin. There was nothing left to be expelled from her body, yet it persisted. Rin coughed up a clear, viscous liquid.

“This is unnatural.” Inuyasha’s wife was also with child. This had not happened to her.

Rin rested her forehead on the brim of the pot. “It’s different for everyone, but it happens to most women.”

Though she described it as an affliction of women, Rin’s misery was her husband’s doing. He was haunted by her mortality, her frailty. No matter what he attempted to circumvent it, she would die someday. He was no god. Sesshoumaru was powerless to stop it. But if she were the mother of his immortal children, at least he would have something more substantial than memories left of her when she was gone.

And, he had been so tired of visiting her. These little buildings and little jobs and little solutions were a source of purpose and contentment for humans. But Sesshoumaru disliked those things and wanted her. Rin belonged by his side always, not only when he could justify to himself why his travels ought to bring him to her village again and again. Sesshoumaru would have swallowed his sorrow had she refused him, but every bit of herself that he asked for, she gave. 

He should not have asked. He should have let her live out her human life in peace. Where she would not suffer for his selfishness.

His wants never hurt  _ him, _ only  _ her. _

Every day, he wandered, half-hoping for monsters he could slay on her behalf. Against that, he would win. Sesshoumaru failed at protecting Rin from the consequences of being loved by him.

Jaken brought Rin her rice.

With reluctance, she released the pot to accept the bowl and chopsticks. Rin licked her lips again and again, no doubt trying to rid herself of the flavor of those putrid emissions. She flexed her fingers, adjusting and readjusting her grip on the chopsticks. Rin lifted the bowl.

It was a struggle. Rin hesitated to take a bite and once she had, she chewed for an abnormally long time. After the second, she put the bowl and chopsticks down. “I can’t. I’m sorry. Thank you for trying.”

Soon enough, what little she had eaten was expelled. The misery remained. Rin claimed this was a common ailment, so how could it be they were unable to defeat it? Knowledge ought to be enough. Rin dropped her forehead against the rim of the pot. Blindly, she reached out with one clammy hand. Sesshoumaru caught it. She squeezed his fingers.

They had come for the expertise of others. “Jaken. Kaede.”

Fetching the old priestess was a much faster task than cooking rice had been. Before much time had passed, Kaede was following Jaken into the hut. She took one look at Rin and sighed. “Stomach pain?”

“No.”

“Headache?”

“No.”

“Sit up.”

Rin obeyed. Kaede bent over the pot and pressed her palm to Rin’s forehead. “No fever.” Unconcerned, she straightened. “It is what it is. A bad case, from the looks of it, but not a bad sign.” Turning to Sesshoumaru, she said, “Rin knows that, of course. She’s in for a difficult time of it. I won’t pretend otherwise, but it’s part and parcel of what the two of you have done. You had best get used to it.”

“But why is this happening?” Jaken asked.

“A woman’s body protects her baby as best she can,” Kaede answered. “Rin’s body has decided that to ensure she has not eaten anything toxic to the child, she must expel everything. It is difficult, but better she do it than not."

Something in the back of Sesshoumaru's mind itched. “Kagome.”

Kaede raised her eyebrow. “Concerned, are you? How unexpected, Sesshoumaru. Worry not, Kagome has had her share of nausea. You simply didn’t know to look for it. Now that you’ve learned them, you may notice something tomorrow, around sun up. Hers passes quickly. No two pregnancies are the same. Some are easier, some are harder. Keep trying plain rice. No fish. Is there anything else?”

The useless woman seemed almost amused. “No.” 

Kaede pat Rin on the hand, said her good-byes and left.

Jaken huffed. “What a useless woman!”

Rin smiled, tiny and weak. “Isn’t it good?” she murmured.

Glowering, Jaken cried, "Did you even notice how you've upset Lord Sesshoumaru with all this human nonsense?"

Rin stroked her belly with her free hand. “My body wants to protect Lord Sesshoumaru’s baby. I’m so glad.”

The heaving began again.

Profoundly unsettled, Sesshoumaru steadied the pot.

Protecting the child was supposed to be his job.


	11. Chapter 11

You’d think, after knowing the kid _his_ _entire life,_ Hisui would be used to the ears by now. 

Sango had taken KinGyo to visit Kohaku for demon slayer training. At six, Hisui was still a bit too young for the intensity Sango intended for the girls. She had sold his staying behind with Miroku as some kind of special father-son bonding adventure. That line of bullshit worked on the kid.

It worked on Inuyasha, too, which was why he was currently questioning the string of life choices that led to Hisui sitting on his shoulders and tugging on his ears.

Inuyasha’s old man died when he was a baby. He’d never had a male role model to step in and provide ...whatever it was fathers provided. But now he was gonna  _ be _ a dad, and while Miroku wasn’t exactly the example he’d choose, he was hardly flush with options. So far, Miroku’s brand of fatherhood mentorship amounted to just letting the kid climb all over Inuyasha and mess with his ears.

He’s not sure why he expected something else.

Or why he expected a reprieve from Sesshoumaru. __

Okay. Truth be told, Sesshoumaru mostly kept to himself. Rin threw herself right back into village life as though she’d never left. Inuyasha did like seeing Kagome have less work to do now that she had a third person to divy up her duties with. But Jaken following Rin around or A-Un being stabled like an ordinary horse made it impossible to pretend things had gone back to the way they were two years ago. Inuyasha didn’t see Sesshoumaru that often, but he was always  _ around. _ Rin seemed to pretty much bathe in his musk. He never wandered far enough from the village that his aura couldn’t be felt.

That massive uptick in demonic energy that came with Sesshoumaru releasing the binding spell that gave him a human-like shape and transforming into his true self? 

Why wouldn’t he do that? Might as well.

Inuyasha shoved Hisui into Miroku’s arms and sped off in the direction of the energy. Never had Sesshoumaru’s transformation meant anything good.

Inuyasha found Sesshoumaru lying in the clearing that bordered the forest. 

His first thought was that his brother was dead.

Sesshoumaru transformed when his rage was so fierce he wished to tear something apart with his teeth, when attacks so honorable or elegant as his swords or light whip were not killing with the efficiency he desired.

_ Stillness _ was not something Inuyasha had ever associated with Sesshoumaru’s dog form and for a split second, the lack of gore or enemies didn't register.

Sesshoumaru just lied there, curled up no differently than any other dog might, save for his massive size and malicious aura. Rin leaned against him, not weeping that  _ the great Lord Sesshoumaru _ had been felled, just relaxing with her face turned towards the thick fur that covered his shoulders and chest.

“Uh. Hey.”

Rin opened her eyes and pushed off Sesshoumaru. With him lying down and her standing, she came up to about his shoulder. “Hi, Inuyasha!”

“Yo, Sesshoumaru! What the hell?”

Sesshoumaru raised his head, eyed his brother and gave a low, disdainful bark.

There was, Inuyasha realized too late, absolutely nothing inherently alarming to Sesshoumaru about being a dog. He was a dog. Inuyasha’s experience with this form was limited to the heat of a desperate battle, but Sesshoumaru probably changed a lot more often than he knew.

Miroku and Hisui caught up. Miroku looked ready for a fight. Hisui’s eyes grew huge.

“So lately,” Rin said brightly, “I’ve had really bad morning sickness. And I noticed that my sense of smell has gotten much stronger. Which is normal, and makes everything so much worse because you want to eat something to settle your stomach but the smell of food just makes you more nauseous and it just goes on and on.”

(Miroku nodded along. Sango had experienced something like that with one of her pregnancies, though so far, Kagome had been pretty lucky.)

“Kagome told me years ago,” Rin continued, “that in her world, they know babies in the womb can hear their parents and taste food. So we--” she indicated between herself and Sesshoumaru “--thought, since our baby is part dog, maybe he or she can learn smells, too. If they can, they already know how I smell and probably how Lord Sesshoumaru usually smells, but they should know this smell, too.” As she spoke, Rin vigorously scratched Sesshourmaru’s ribs.

“So,” Inuyasha summed up, “you’re just hanging out, smelling him?”

Rin beamed. “Yep!”

“Can I pet him?”

Sesshoumaru, with his giant red eyes and lip-less snout lined with teeth nearly the size of Hisui’s entire body, tilted his head.

Rin’s perpetual smile dropped off her face. She looked so confused that Inuyasha thought she didn’t even know if she ought to be confused anymore. Her hand smoothed the fur her scratching had ruffled. “This is  _ Lord Sesshoumaru.”  _

“Can I pet him?” Hisui repeated. It was impossible to tell if he did not understand that the tall, white-haired man who lingered ominously at the edge of the village and this dog were the same being or if he did not think it mattered.

Rin blinked. “No.”

Hisui asked, “Does he bite?”

_ “Lord Sesshoumaru doesn’t bite!” _

Inuyasha raised his hand. “He’s bitten me.”

Pouting, Hisui asked, “Then why can’t I pet him?”

Rin was without words.

“You’re petting him,” Hisui added.

_ “I’m his wife!” _

“You shouldn’t go near him anyway,” Inuyasha added. “His saliva’s toxic.”

Rin nodded vigorously. "That's true."

“Oh,” Miroku sighed. “I’m sorry to hear that, Rin.”

_ That _ tone meant something perverted, and no sooner did Inuyasha commit himself to not thinking about whatever Miroku was trying to get at than the fact that Sesshoumaru’s giant dog tongue couldn’t be used to perform oral sex on a human woman burst into his brain with terrible, haunting clarity.

For her part, Rin did not seem to catch the allusion. She said, “Thank you,” but it sounded more like a question.

Sesshoumaru rolled to his feet. Ears down, tail straight back, but slightly raised.

“I promise to stay away from his head,” Hisui added hopefully. “Please?”

Someone needed to teach that kid what aggression in animals looked like.

“I think what Rin is trying to say,” Miroku said, placing his hands on Hisui’s shoulders and herding him away, “is that being a wife comes with both duties  _ and _ privileges.”

Rin covered her face with her hands. 

Sesshoumaru curled into a ball of light then straightened out as a man wearing a blank expression, arms folded in his sleeves.

Hisui allowed himself to be led, but asked, “What does that mean?”

Miroku gave the only answer that could spare him Sango’s wrath when she got back: “I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

When they were gone, Rin peered at Inuyasha from between her fingers. “Lord Sesshoumaru is just so soft,” she whispered. “I can’t help it.” As if proving her point, she moved to stroke the fur that wound around Sesshoumaru’s shoulder.

Inuyasha shook his head. “I didn’t ask.”

And the next time Sesshoumaru’s aura changed, he damn sure wouldn't investigate.


	12. Chapter 12

Building a life in the feudal era had been an adjustment for Kagome. Familiarity had helped in some respects, but during the Naraku days, she had been able to travel back and forth between Inuyasha’s time and her own. Never had she been forced to rely on only one world’s resources. The mindset she had grown up with was one shaped by a world overrun with consumerism, where everyone was practically trained to be constantly buying cute little knick knacks and whatnots. The feudal era was an age of minimalism. Possessions were a hindrance. The goal was subsistence. Her teenage bedroom alone had more furniture than the entire hut Kagome shared with Inuyasha.

Shopping was not a source of happiness. That lesson had been easy. Kagome learned she could live quite well without the latest and greatest in keychains and plushies and handheld video games, naturally adorned with an ever expanding collection of cute straps and charms. Other pleasures were harder to lose. She missed photographs. Going to the movies. A gaggle of friends pouring into a fastfood restaurant not for the cuisine but because it was a fun way to unwind after a stressful school day.

One of those things she could somewhat preserve. Every now and then, she and Inuyasha would fill their house up with friends talking and laughing, sharing and eating. Preparing a meal and cleaning up afterwards wasn’t as relaxing as grabbing a burger, but it was a great way to gather together.

Last night, Rin and Jaken had joined the usual dinner party guests, and Sesshoumaru had left the village.

By Inuyasha’s reckoning, it was the first time Sesshoumaru had gone further out than the forest since they arrived. His absence cast a strange pallor over the night. Rin didn’t seem to mind; she always attended such events alone when she was younger. Jaken groused, but once Shippou pulled him into a petty argument he forgot any offense at being left behind to consort with the humans. Miroku and Sango, the Old Marrieds of their social circle, certainly disapproved of a wife being abandoned by her husband. Inuyasha had been torn between joy that his brother  _ finally left _ and anxiety over what he ought to be reading into it. Every day, he made a new vow to stop letting Sesshoumaru’s actions, lack of actions, words or lack of words get under his skin and every day, he failed. Kagome couldn’t remember ever giving Souta half as much thought as Inuyasha gave his brother, but she had been accustomed to Souta’s presence. He was a given. He  _ belonged _ in her life. She understood him.

Kagome had been headed towards the shrine for the morning’s duties when she spied Sesshoumaru emerge from the woods. She made a beeline for him. “We missed you at dinner last night!” A lie, she supposed, but she meant it. If Sesshoumaru were to suddenly behave as though he were a member of the group, it would be awkward, but to Kagome at least it was clear that ought to be the goal.

He walked past her.

Though it required a change of direction, Kagome followed him. “For Rin’s sake, you should spend more time with the family.”

“Do not presume to advise me on personal matters.”

Kagome glared at his back. Invoking his wife’s name ought to have stopped Sesshoumaru in his tracks, made him reflect on how his treatment of Inuyasha--something between an annoyance and a pincushion--put Rin in a difficult position. She had grown up in the village. She was close to Inuyasha. She expected her child to have a relationship with their cousin.

“I get it,” Kagome said. “I have a little brother, too, you know.”

Sesshoumaru probably didn’t know and he almost certainly didn’t care. Kagome elected to behave as though he had politely inquired about her brother’s well-being. “He’s...well, I guess he’s about Rin’s age.” So strange to think of Souta as a high schooler! But he wasn’t going to stop growing just because his big sister wasn’t there to see it. “I haven’t seen him in years. He’s still a kid in my head. He looked up to Inuyasha a lot. Souta was always kind of a crybaby, so someone as strong and brave as Inuyasha really inspired him.” She stopped. How much had Souta grown over the years? She’d never know. 

“I have no interest in your life story.”

_ Rude! _

“You have to make an effort with us, too!” Kagome snapped.  _ “You’re _ the one who was  _ wrong and you know it!” _

Her brother-in-law really did respect her. Kagome knew that. Yelling at him did not result in immediate retaliation.

“Someday,” she continued, “your kid is going to be old enough to figure out why you treat Inuyasha the way you do.”

It wasn’t Inuyasha’s job to fix this relationship. He wasn’t the aggressor. Kagome expected him to try to get along with Sesshoumaru, but she could not ask him to overlook everything, forgive everything, reach out and get nothing in return. She couldn’t ask Inuyasha to accept that Sesshoumaru called his little brother a stain on their lineage in one breath and fathered a half-demon in another without ever acknowledging his hypocrisy.

According to Rin, Sesshoumaru actively wanted their half-demon child rather than passively accepting pregnancy as a by-product of their marriage. Kagome wasn’t sure how much she believed that. She couldn’t begin to imagine Sesshoumaru sitting down to discuss family planning! Still, Rin knew him better than she did and that had to count for something. 

But Inuyasha! He had grown up alone, orphaned, and struggling. His older brother--clearly capable of protecting Inuyasha at his most vulnerable--had been yet another source of cruelty and prejudice. Even half-demons with loving human homes, like Jinenji and Shiori, were not shielded from the disgust of the world. How much brighter would his life have been if Inuyasha grew up with just one demon who loved him?

And what about Sesshoumaru and Rin’s child? Sesshoumaru seemed to reserve all his kindnesses for Rin, and even if that trickled down to their offspring, how long could they avoid the suspicion that even if their father did not hate  _ them, _ he hated others like them?

Silently, Sesshoumaru continued walking. Kagome followed, unsure if she should say more. Was he thinking about her words or disregarding them completely? It was impossible to tell. They moved through the village, the shrine and her chores growing further away.

Sesshoumaru had delivered her right to her own house! As if he was going to get rid of her  _ that _ easily!

But without even a backwards glance, nevermind actually asking permission to go in, Sesshoumaru pushed the mat aside and entered. Kagome, right behind him.

“No!” Shippou was shouting, “We have to ante!”

“We already anted!” Inuyasha argued.

Shippou pressed two frustrated fists to his own forehead. “You do it more than once!”

_ “That’s not the ante!” _

The deck of cards was old, worn and water-stained. Kagome had brought them to the feudal era when she was fifteen, and the group tended to cycle through periods of being fascinated by the strange games she knew and disinterestedly setting the cards aside for months. Apparently, Inuyasha and Shippou had reached the wanting-to-play portion of the cycle. 

They never seemed to remember the rules from session to session.

Rin leaned towards Jaken, cards fanned out in her hand. “Which part was the ante?” she whispered.

The little demon shrugged. Suddenly, he leapt to his feet, tossing his own cards. They fell to the floor fluttering. “Lord Sesshoumaru! You have returned!”

Rin spun around. Her face lit up. “Welcome back! Did you have a good trip?” She gathered Jaken’s cards and laid them in a neat pile with her own. “Here you go, Inuyasha. We don’t really understand how to play. Maybe another time?” Rin swung her legs over the side of the raised floor and felt for her sandals with her toes. Slipping them on, she hopped to Sesshoumaru’s side. “Let’s go home. I want to hear about your trip.” To Inuyasha, she added, “You’ll teach us how to play poker again, right?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Shippou grumbled something that sounded like, “He doesn’t even know how.”

“Yay, thanks!” Waving, she said, “Bye, everyone!”

Sesshoumaru and his entourage left. As they did, Kagome heard Rin tut. “You can go more often if you need to, my lord. Inuyasha protects us.” If Sesshoumaru made any response, it was too soft for an accidental eavesdropper to hear.

Kagome looked to her husband.

Inuyasha folded his arms behind his head. “Ain’t like there was anything to protect ‘em  _ from. _ Gotta hand it to Sesshoumaru, though--he’s being real careful. I don’t think his old cronies are too happy  _ he _ turned out like the old man.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. I strongly disliked what was originally in my outline once I started writing it and needed to come up with something else that was a Kagome chapter and worked with my timeline.


	13. Chapter 13

At sunset, the footpaths of the village grew crowded as the people raced dusk home. One by one, a warm glow lit the windows along the street as families gathered around the hearth. There was something satisfying in knowing all the villagers were safe at home, sharing the evening with their loved ones, relaxing before another day.

Rin’s eyes were especially drawn to the mothers who passed her by, some with sleeping babies strapped to their backs. Others carried sniffling babies, the women trying to soothe over their shoulders without breaking their strides.

When she put her hands on her belly, she thought,  _ maybe _ there was some added fullness. Lord Sesshoumaru told her she conceived seven weeks ago and he was quite certain he had caught the scent within a day or two. If it were not her own wishful thinking accounting for a change, at this stage, it would just be bloating. Rin couldn’t help her eagerness. She longed for the quickening, the birth, to hold her baby in her arms. To know what gifts Lord Sesshoumaru’s demon blood bestowed, to learn who her child was going to be.

Humming, Rin rounded the back of her house to greet A-Un. The dragon was every bit the nomad their master was, no doubt feeling just as stifled as Lord Sesshoumaru but without his incentive to stay. A half-demon pregnancy contained so many unknowns. Of course it made sense for  _ Rin  _ to remain someplace safe, someplace free of prejudice, someplace with friends and a trustworthy midwife, but her needs had resulted in a unilateral decision that did not account for Master Jaken or A-Un. 

“I brought you pears!”

A-Un ate their treat. Rin hoped they understood she was apologizing for their boredom. After they finished, they laid down, curled on their side like Lord Sesshoumaru did when he was in dog form. Seeing them so utterly relaxed, Rin felt herself welcomed and forgiven. She sat in the circle of the dragon’s legs and leaned against their belly. Soon, she would not find it such an easy task to sit and stand up again!

Rin laid her palm on her obi. Maybe there was a  _ little _ fullness.

“I will be here until Bon Festival.” Halting and unsure, Rin tried to mimic a melody she had not heard since she was very small. Her mother used to sing lullabies to Rin and her brothers, long, long ago in another life. She felt A-Un shift, and Rin leaned forward to let the dragon situate themself. After a moment, she pressed her back to their ribs. They were folded like a cat now, back straight, shoulders squared, limbs tucked beneath their torso. “After Bon Festival, I will not be here.”

Rin closed her eyes. She couldn’t remember her mother’s voice, but once she had begun to sing the half-remembered song, the rest of it felt very close,  _ solid _ though she could not trust herself to remember the words.

She began again.

“I will be here until Bon Festival,   
After Bon Festival, I will not be here.  
If Bon Festival comes early,  
I will go home early.”

When Rin was very small, she asked her mother why she would leave after the festival and where she was going. Her mother had told her not to worry about it, it was only a lullaby. It did not have much meaning.

“I am from the poor families.   
They are from the rich families.   
The rich people wear good obi,  
Wear good clothes.”

Laughing, Rin shook her head. “It’s a baby-sitter,” she told A-Un. “This song is about a  _ baby-sitter.” _ A poor baby-sitter at that, longing to go home and leave the wealthy children she was minding far behind. “I don’t want to sing about the baby-sitter!”

Her child deserved something personal and unique, something that reflected their mother’s desire to be with their family. Rin thought a moment and sang out that sentiment.

“I will be here always,  
I would never leave you,  
Should I be taken away,  
We’ll be together in our hearts.

“Mother comes from a village,   
Father comes from the sky,   
The Western Lord wears a fur pelt  
And carries two swords.”

“What do you think, A and Un? Needs some work?” Grinning, Rin turned towards A-Un’s heads, but found her view entirely obstructed by white cloth. 

Lord Sesshoumaru sat atop A-Un, right foot on the saddle, knee high by his shoulders. His left leg hung beside Rin. He regarded her with steady eyes, his chin propped against the backs of his fingers.

Rin rested her head against his thigh. “How long have you been there?”

“I heard you singing.” His hand smoothed her hair.

“My mother used to sing to me. Do you remember your mother’s songs?”

Lord Sesshoumaru scoffed. “My mother had no use for such things.”

“You were a baby once,” Rin countered. Perhaps his mother had not sung him to sleep, but Rin knew him well enough to know that Lord Sesshoumaru occasionally needed to be soothed. She grinned. “Or were you a puppy?”

“There is no distinction.”

Rin raised her head and his hand followed, the pads of his fingers drifting lightly against her cheek. “You were a puppy,” she decided. “With soft fur and big paws and you drooled toxins all over your poor mother’s tile floors.”

“This is how I am thought of by my wife?”

She grasped his hand in both of hers, brought his palm to her lips and kissed it with reverence. “My lord husband knows his wife thinks very highly of him.” It could not have escaped his notice that she did not rescind her imaginings. Though it may not be how he wished to be pictured, even Lord Sesshoumaru could not deny the texture of his fur, the need for large dogs to grow into their paws or the nature of his saliva.

“Hn.”

He wanted further soothing, did he? “Let’s go for a walk!” Rin had no fear of darkness with Lord Sesshoumaru’s eyes to guide her. The rhythm of the village promised their privacy.  _ “Deep _ in the woods. On the way, I can teach you songs to sing for our baby.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suggested by Miss Jackson: Rin singing a lullaby to her belly while lying against A-Un.
> 
> The first song Rin sings is the Itsuki Lullaby. I tried to find real lullabies from this time period but nothing was date stamped so I really have no idea when the song was sung. The translation is from Wikipedia, though I did tweak it a teeny bit.


	14. Chapter 14

Rin had confessed once that the myriad of ways he used his abilities were often lost on her. Sesshoumaru was startled. It was no mystery he was capable of a great many things she was not, but he had allowed himself to imagine she thought of the disparity just as he did. He forgot she only knew what she was shown. Rin didn’t question his martial skills. He made his strength obvious. Not everything was so clear.

Take the rain.

When she was a child, it never rained. They wandered through lush forests. She pilfered from thriving fields. There  _ was _ rain, just never  _ on them. _ Rin hadn’t thought much about it at first, but after a few weeks, she noticed, and after a few months, she could no longer shrug it off as a coincidence. It was Lord Sesshoumaru magic. Even the sky held him in such awe that it would not dare rain on him.

After she began living in a village, and rain was a fact of life, Rin could smell it. Rain had always had a smell, but she’d gone so long without rain that she had forgotten. That was when she realized: Sesshoumaru could smell the rain. He smelled the rain before it was upon them and they walked away. This, too, was remarkable and magical, but in a different way.

How strange it was to see himself through her eyes!

The desire to stay out of the rain was not an unusual one. As Rin had already discovered, a sedentary lifestyle meant one could not simply walk in another direction after catching the scent of distant petrichor.

Earlier that morning, Rin had gone to Inuyasha’s house. It would not do for her to walk home in the rain, nor did Sesshoumaru enjoy the prospect of sitting in their hut without her while Rin waited out the storm with his brother. The only solution was to fetch her before the rain started.

For all the time that lapsed between making such a resolution and walking into Inuyasha’s house, they may as well have been a single action. 

Humans typically sat around the hearth when gathered together, but their activity required Rin, Inuyasha, his wife and the fox to arrange themselves in a circle somewhat removed from it. A pile of baubles lay between them. The unexpected appearance of Sesshoumaru put an end to whatever this was.

Rin beamed. “Lord Sesshoumaru!”

“Should we deal you in?” Kagome held up a stack of thick papers.

After a moment’s silence, Rin said, “Lord Sesshoumaru will be a team with me.” What being ‘a team’ was to mean in this context, she did not clarify. She sat with an unusual stiffness in her back and shoulders. Her heart rate was slightly elevated. Had she anything to conceal, Sesshoumaru would suspect her of lying. “Our cards are very good. Remember that.”

“I call!” Inuyasha threw the papers in his hand to the floor. Rin, Kagome and Shippou followed suit. A brief examination of each collection ensued, after which Kagome named Inuyasha the winner. Sesshoumaru was inclined to attribute such a decision to bias, but as neither Rin nor Shippou protested, he did not interfere. Laughing maniacally, Inuyasha swept all the trinkets in the center of the circle to himself.

Rin rolled her shoulders. Her set of her back loosened. She inhaled. She  _ had _ been lying. Not about anything of consequence--her game pieces were poor and she had wanted her companions to believe otherwise. Released from the self-inflicted stress, her heart rate began to slow.

“Quiet.”

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. “What is your problem  _ now?” _

Sesshoumaru had not felt his tone invited dissent. “Shut up.”

Rocking, Inuyasha propelled himself to his feet. “The hell you tell me what to do in my own house!”

“Do not expect I will make the same request a third time. Listen.”

The worried look that crossed Rin and Kagome’s faces did not escape Inuyasha. He did not argue further. Inuyasha’s nose twitched.

Sesshoumaru listened.

Even without the sound of his brother’s obnoxious laughter, the hut was a cacophony of competing sounds. The snap of the fire. Inuyasha’s audible sniffing. Breathing. Heart beats. The rustle of clothing as the others shifted, anxiously looking for some sign of what they ought to prepare for. 

No matter.

He heard it clearly enough.

“There are two.”

“Enemies?” Inuyasha pounded his shoulder with a fist, cocky and ready. “No problem!”

Idiot. Even accounting for the incoming rain masking distant scents, the nose he was so loudly using should have assured him there was no imminent danger.

Sesshoumaru looked to Rin. Her forearms covered her belly, instinctively guarding the bump she had already told him was too large for how far along they thought she was. “There are two.”

Her heart was so much louder than those of the tiny creatures she carried within. His nascent half-demons. Their hearts beat in time with one another. For a fleeting moment, the rhythm that kept him from hearing them as three distinct individuals had been knocked out of sync.

“Twins!” Bubbling with laughter, Rin leapt to her feet. “We’re having twins! Can you believe it?” She clapped her hands over her mouth as her whole body shuddered with tears. “I’m happy,” she promised. “I’m so happy.”

Kagome’s congratulations came quick and earnest, delivered with a hug and hand holding for Rin, still so overcome with emotion she hardly knew what to do with herself.

“Two half-demons?” Inuyasha seemed stunned.

Two half-demons. 

It was impossible to know what form a half-demon would take until they were born. The twins could be approximately the same, but they could also be wildly different. As individuals, yes, of course, they would be different people no matter what. But what did he, their father, pass on? One could be more dog-like than the other. They may have different magnitudes of strength. One may be able to pass in a human or nearly human society while the other could not. Was it inevitable that one must end up superior to the other? One day, will the child less favored by nature be left wondering what they had done, why they were not good enough?

With a jeering grin, Inuyasha added, “You’re worse than the old man, Sesshoumaru!”

Flexing his hand, Sesshoumaru regretted that he let the little cretin finish his sentence before slugging him in the face. “Rin, it’s going to rain.”

“We should go home.” Rin extracted herself from Kagome and wincing, stepped around Inuyasha, laid out on the floor. “Do you guys need--ah, you have salve, right?”

The sky is dark.

He tarried too long.

Beside him, Rin looked up, stretched her arms wide and inhaled. “I can smell the rain.”

Sesshoumaru walked briskly, trusting Rin to follow. Her pace was slower. She didn’t mind a little rain. Talking, rather than walking, earned Rin’s focus. She began every sentence with  _ you two, _ telling their children everything that came to mind. She spoke for the joy of it, the pleasure of acknowledging her audience of two. 

They beat the rain home, but only just. They were barely inside before rain hammered the roof.

“Inuyasha doesn’t remember your father.”

How could he? Their father had died for Inuyasha nearly the moment he had been born.

Rin sat on the edge of the raised floor and toed off her sandals. “You’ll tell our babies all about their grandpa, won’t you?”

It was a request Sesshoumaru would more readily expect from Jaken. Rin liked to talk, but she was not terribly keen on listening. Hearing someone else’s stories bored her, she owned that. He had no reason to think the children would not follow her example. Still, if they cared to hear about their grandfather, Sesshoumaru would tell them.

Rin leaned back on her palms. “Maybe you could tell Inuyasha a little bit, too.”


	15. Chapter 15

Word of advice to anyone interested in becoming the namesake of a large parcel of woodland: A surefire way to get your name attached to a forest is to sleep pinned to a tree for 50 years. Note that this will not come with any ownership or territorial rights, which is fine, because who wants that kind of responsibility anyway? Inuyasha liked to think Kaede got that whole  _ Inuyasha’s Forest _ thing started when she was a kid out of some kind of fond memory for the almost-brother-in-law who got shafted, but realistically, she definitely spent those fifty years thinking he murdered her big sister in cold blood. The real answer probably was half boogeyman to scare away idiots and half  _ hey, that dog-eared kid stuck to a tree makes a great landmark.  _ You’ll get lost if you’re dumb enough not to notice that moss can grow anywhere, but tree sleeping people tend to face only in the one direction.

Said dog-eared kid--now awake, older, wiser (and this was unrelated, but slightly calmer of temperament)--was just as unlikely to get lost now as he ever was. Travelers coming in and out of the village had worn good roads through the forest. Inuyasha and Miroku answered calls for demon extermination from communities in every direction. It was almost harder to simply follow the roads than to jump from path to path, carving out a straighter shot home every time. 

Inuyasha wasn’t about to claim proud ownership of his service to past generations as their woodland boogeyman, but he wouldn’t mind if someone else got around to telling Sesshoumaru this was  _ Inuyasha’s _ Forest. No matter what direction they were coming back from, the whole place stank like Sesshoumaru. Not surprising, considering he seemed to spend all his time just aimlessly patrolling the woods. If he meant to stick around, he ought to get a real job. Wasn’t it shameful that the pregnant wife was the only one working in that family? 

Inuyasha’s ears twitched.

Miroku noticed. “What is it?”

“I heard something.”

With a raised eyebrow, Miroku said, “I gathered as much.  _ What _ did you hear?”

“Not sure.” It was low-pitched, but the distance it had traveled and the ambient noises of the woods made him unable to pinpoint much else. He had never heard something like this in the forest before. “It’s coming from this way.”

Investigating took them further from the path. That was fine. There was no getting lost in these woods. 

“Could it be someone from the village?” Miroku wondered.

“Hell if I know. People don’t clear it with me before they go hunting.” He wouldn’t mistake the sounds of footsteps, though, and if someone were lying in wait for game, Inuyasha wouldn’t hear that unless he was much closer. This was...a voice or a cry, he thought. They were getting closer, but he couldn’t smell blood. Not a wounded animal, then. Had to be a person, but he’d expect a cry for help to be shrill… This was low, straddling a line between steady and wavering. If only he could smell something in these damn woods other than Sesshoumaru!

Ah, fuck.

“Let’s go!” With a great sweep of his leg, Inuyasha turned right around. “We never go home the long way, we ought to give it a chance.”

“What?” Miroku sputtered. “We can’t just walk away from a suspicious situation.”

“Nope. Nope. Nope. Let’s go. Far away. Right now.”

“What has gotten into you?” Miroku dashed into Inuyasha’s line of vision, holding his staff upright in a manner he probably practiced in front of the mirror and decided made him look very holy and authoritative. “We have a duty to help others, and more importantly, a duty to allow others to be grateful for our assistance. I am going to investigate.”

“The hell you are.” Inuyasha jumped over Miroku’s head, landed behind him and snatched him by the back of his robes. He bodily dragged Miroku back to the path and did not let go until the village was in sight. Turning around would no longer tempt Miroku now that Sango was so near.

This was normally where they parted ways, each going home to their respective wives, but Kagome was actually with Sango today. In Kagome’s world, mothers did not strap their babies to their backs while they worked. She was pretty nervous about carrying the baby that way, completely convinced she could never tie regular material securely enough. Inuyasha gathered that babies had special cloth in her world, which seemed weird since they were just gonna outgrow it. It quickly became apparent that this was one of those ‘no, but also yes’ situations, where the truth was complicated and also something Kagome herself didn’t have a lot of experience with, so she couldn’t explain it well. Mentally, Inuyasha had decided they would just agree that he was right. 

Sango, tying a bundle of old clothes to Kagome’s back to demonstrate how the knots ought to feel, asked, “How did the mission go?”

“The mission was fine,” Miroku answered, “but Inuyasha’s been acting strangely ever since we neared the village.”

“Don’t talk about me like I’m not here!”

Sango appraised Inuyasha then turned back to the knots. “See, right there. You want the pressure there.” 

Kagome nodded.

To Miroku, Sango said, “He seems normal to me.”

Miroku sat cross-legged on the floor, his staff leaning against his shoulder. He used his Wise Man tone for his explanation. “Inuyasha heard something strange in the woods. We began to investigate, but he suddenly changed his mind and made us go back the other way.”

Kagome and Sango traded glances.

“So,” Sango drawled, “Inuyasha was possessed on the mission?”

_ “I was not!” _

Batting her eyelashes at him, Kagome added, “We ask out of love!”

Inuyasha’s jaw jumped. “I  _ wasn’t.” _

“Still,” Sango said, “I don’t like the idea of something strange happening this close to the village. It’s probably nothing, but we should still check it out. Kaede took KinGyo and Hisui to the shrine a little bit ago. I can go with you.” Three kids meant one of them had to stay home and Miroku’s “better business instincts” made them more money, so usually Sango was on kid duty, but slayer habits die hard. She still wore armor under her nondescript clothes and hiraikotsu was not far.

“Don’t!”

“We have nothing to lose from trying to help others,” Sango said, adjusting her shoulder guards.

“It’s not worth it,” Inuyasha said. “Plus, I heard it a while ago. It’s probably over, anyway. Just don’t bother, okay?”

Miroku sighed. “If you’re really this against something so simple, you need to give us a compelling reason.” 

Ugh. They were really gonna make him say it, huh? Sure, Inuyasha could keep his mouth shut but that would mean letting Miroku and Sango just stumble across it and that’d be worse... “It’s Sesshoumaru and Rin having sex.”

Inuyasha closed his eyes, hoping that that would trick his brain into forgetting all about what he said and the fact that Kagome, Miroku and Sango were all staring at him.

It did not work.

“In the woods?” Miroku asked.

Did he think Inuyasha said that for fun? That by asking follow-up questions, everything would rewind and they all would be magically liberated of knowledge of Sesshoumaru’s sex life? “Yeah.”

“In the middle of the day?” Miroku pressed.

“Yeah.”

Miroku whistled, indisputably impressed. “How did he get her to agree to that?”

Luckily, Sango had hiraikotsu in hand.


	16. Chapter 16

The herb garden represented the combined knowledge of Kaede and Jinenji. It was the culmination of decades of experience in breeding, growing and using medicinal plants. Kagome tended to it diligently, her expertise expanding gradually under the tutelage of her mentors. She had been accustomed to thinking of learning as something that happened bent over books, reading and re-reading the same passage until it was committed to memory just long enough to pass a test. That had never suited her. Learning in the feudal era involved significantly fewer books, no cramming and a whole lot of hands on experience.

Kagome found learning by doing suited her brain better, but it was so stressful! Sure, school had been stressful. Doing poorly on a test made her feel like an abject failure of a person. But grades were _fake._ The educational system of the modern era was built on the decisions of strangers who decided that the only way to assess what students did or did not know was what they could remember to jot down with a pencil and paper, and then arbitrarily assigned a numeric value to it. Grades were everything until you graduated; afterwards, they never mattered again.

Misidentifying an herb had consequences. Making a bad batch of medicine _mattered._

Sango was a fount of botanical knowledge, too, but her herb garden had been in the demon slayers’ village. She knew what plants made effective poisons for different kinds of demons. She knew how to make a sleeping potion. She knew what to put in a gooey ointment to paralyze a bug demon, how to flush out a water demon without harming the fish, and the best ways to make and release a noxious gas that suffocated mammalian demons. Kohaku’s new demon slayer battalion had enthusiasm, but their success would depend on support. They needed sturdy weapons, training modules to match, new gas masks and armor, and the poisons and toxins to defeat demons while minimising the risk posed to slayers. 

The feudal era did not have gardening catalogues Sango could order toxic seeds from.

“Sango,” Kagome said, resigned, “it’s gotta be you. If there’s anything that can be salvaged from your old garden, you’re the only one who can recognize the plants.”

Kagome, Sango and Rin had gone round and round trying to think of a reliable way to send someone else. Sango had the battle-hardened instincts of a seasoned slayer, but she was also a mother. She wasn’t about to bring her young children on a mission to collect toxic plants, but she hated the idea of leaving them for so long. To make matters worse, it could be all for nothing! The slayers’ garden had been left to its own devices for years. Useful plants may have thrived, but it was just as likely they had been overrun with weeds and died out. They didn’t have pictures of the plants or the artistic ability to draw useful diagrams. Kohaku had never done a season on garden duty. He hadn’t made it that far up the ranks before Naraku.

Sango sighed. “I just don’t like the idea of leaving KinGyo and Hisui for that long.” The children were often independent, but they were living in an age without security. They didn’t fear demon attacks, warlords or roving bandits in this village, but bad water or an infection could still kill a person overnight. 

As if hearing his name, Hisui ran into the hut.

Kagome smiled. Time would move quickly. She’d have a rambunctious six-year-old on her hands before she knew it! “Miroku won’t go,” Kagome said decisively. “You, Inuyasha and Shippou go. Miroku will watch the kids and Rin and I will build the fence.”

(Another vital consideration for dealing with toxic herbs: keeping villagers and animals out!)

Sango raised her eyebrows. “Are you sure you two are up for building a fence?”

Kagome puffed her cheeks out. “We’re pregnant, not invalids! We’re not going to _not_ contribute. How hard can it be to build a fence?”

“Said like a woman who has never built a fence,” Sango replied.

“It’s hammering nails into boards,” Rin added. “How hard can it be? Plus, I have tons of experience in hopping over fences that I bet will be useful in designing a fence that’ll keep people out.”

Quizzically, Kagome asked, “What are you doing hopping fences?”

“Stealing.”

“What?” Kagome sputtered. “Why are you stealing?”

Rin wrinkled her nose. “I don’t steal _anymore!_ I just _used_ to! Sometimes I had to steal food when I was a kid.”

Her mothering instincts might be at an all time high now, but they had not been silent when Kagome was younger. “We would have given you food!” 

Waving her off, Rin said, “It’s not like we crossed paths _that_ much in those days.”

Maybe not, but if it _had_ been rare, it was because Sesshoumaru tended to not take his human companion along when he set out to menace his half-human brother. Kagome wasn’t exactly sure when Sesshoumaru picked up Rin. She assumed it was sometime after Tessaiga's barrier rejected him, but she couldn’t pinpoint it more than that. Rin couldn't place it within events she hadn’t been present for and Sesshoumaru wasn’t talking. Jaken probably knew and would be willing to say, but Kagome didn’t have the patience to put up with the casual insults his stories tended to be littered with. 

It sounded strange, anyway. Sesshoumaru made it clear he had no use for human society or human conventions, but he was also undeniably a man of wealth. Rin’s clothes and the gifts he had sent over the years suggested he had no qualms regarding lavish spending. “Why wasn’t Sesshoumaru buying you food?”

Rin looked at Kagome oddly, like it was a question she didn’t even know how to parse. “Why would--?”

Rin gasped.

Her hands cupped her belly, feeling the bump cautiously.

Kagome trembled. “Rin?”

“Oh!” Rin beamed. “Kagome! Sango! They’re quickening!”

Kagome and Sango immediately scooted closer, caught in the infectious delight of pregnancy. The first time an expecting mother felt her baby move was so exciting! Kagome had had her quickening just a few weeks ago and ever since, she couldn’t help but picture her children running all over the village. How she longed for an ultrasound!

“How does it feel?” Sango’s smile was knowing. She, too, had carried twins.

“It’s like...they’re like…” Breathless and awed, Rin searched for words. “They’re like butterflies inside me.”

“Butterflies?” Hisui’s face crumbled in betrayal. “I thought it was puppies!”

Erupting in a fit of gigglings, Rin cried, “They are! I’m having puppies!”

Hisui brightened, probably expecting roly poly puppies like someone’s pet would have in a cardboard box under the stairs. Kagome knew from Inuyasha that Hisui had seen Sesshoumaru’s true form.

She hoped he wouldn’t ask to pet the babies.


End file.
